'Your legacy will be eternal': sporting world pays tribute to Brazilian legend Pele
Sports
'Your legacy will be eternal': sporting world pays tribute to Brazilian legend Pele
(Reuters) - The sporting world expressed its sorrow at the deathof one of its greatest heroes on Friday, bidding farewell to Brazilian soccer legend Pele with a flood of heartfelt tributes.
Brazil s Pele, a prolific goalscorer who won the World Cup an unprecedented three times as a player in 1958, 1962 and 1970, died on Thursday aged 82 after a long battle with cancer.
World soccer s governing body FIFA lowered all flags at its headquarters in Zurich "as a symbol of mourning and respect," while the Premier League, EFL and A-League said they would pay tribute to the soccer great through a minute s applause before games.
The Premier League and EFL added that players will wear black armbands during this weekend s matches, while Spain s LaLiga said it would observe a minute s silence ahead of games.
Several footballers took to social media to pay tribute to Pele, with Liverpool s Mohamed Salah sharing a picture of the icon on Instagram, writing in the caption: "Farewell to a legend of football."
Real Madrid and Croatia midfielder Luka Modric said Pele was "one of the greatest of all time," while Moroccan defender Achraf Hakimi posted a black and white photo of a young Pele smiling, writing on Twitter, "your legacy will be eternal."
The Australian Professional Leagues (APL) said all A-League games this weekend will hold a minute s applause before kick-off to pay tribute to "an icon".
The minute s applause was observed ahead of Western United s home game against Brisbane Roar on Friday.
Brazilian tennis player Thiago Monteiro said it was a sad day for Brazil.
"Pele was our biggest idol in sports. He did so much even for the country, to showing Brazil to the world, and we had a lot of respect for him," Monteiro told reporters.
Indian cricket great Sachin Tendulkar said Pele s death was "a great loss to not just football but to the whole world of sports."
